Four people were injured in two wrecks on the four-lane through McMinnville on Thursday, the first one happening at 8 a.m.
According to McMinnville police reports, the first crash occurred when Frances Mayes attempted to make a left turn from Sparta Highway (Highway 70) into her doctor’s office. In trying to make the turn, she entered the path of an oncoming 2015 Chevy driven by Brenda Rains.
The vehicles collided nearly head-on, injuring both women. They were taken to nearby St. Thomas River Park Hospital for treatment. Mayes was cited for failure to yield.
The second crash happened a couple of miles west on the same highway around 1 p.m. and was witnessed by Warren County Sheriff Jackie Matheny.
According to police reports, Brenda Brown was heading westbound on Highway 55 near Old Shelbyville Road when she crossed the median and began traveling in the eastbound lane.
“It looked like she had some kind of medical issue,” Matheny said, noting vehicles were able to dodge the oncoming pickup until it met a group of cars that had nowhere to go. “They hit pretty well head-on.”
The crash, however, was of the low-speed variety since the other cars had basically stopped and Brown was traveling slowly.
The first car she hit was a Ford Taurus driven by Donna Christian. Both she and Brown were taken to River Park for treatment of noncritical injuries. Joe McPeak was also struck in a Dodge Caravan but escaped injury.